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Thursday, October 16, 2008

AnimationMentor.com has unveiled key findings from an animation industry survey that shows a vibrant and healthy workforce with a bright future. Animation Mentor commissioned independent research firm Knowledge Wave International to conduct the survey to gain insight into an insider’s view on industry trends, job titles, job satisfaction and earnings.

“Behind the Characters: Professional Animator Job Satisfaction, Career Outlook and Salary Survey Report” is based on the feedback of more than 3,000 respondents from over a dozen countries.

Some of the highlights include:• Animators are some of the happiest workers in America• Motion capture and outsourcing are some of the trends changing the industry• The earnings outlook for animators is bright and growing• Animation is growing not just in films but in gaming, advertising and TV shows• There’s a high sense of job satisfaction in the industry

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comments:

What should be emphasized though is that there is still a huge competition going on.

Within all the people I met during my final year of studying 3D animation, only a few (I'd say about 10%) are still working in the industry, most of them turned to other graphic jobs (such as webdesign) or went to a totaly different industry...

This is an awesome report. I just noticed one thing though. In the 10 Top selling Games section it said GTA made $9.4 Million. It should be 9.4 copies sold and made over 500 Million! Just thought I would point that out ;)

Wow, this was an incredible report! Thanks so much for putting it out! I'm currently in AM and this has put any hint of doubt I had about my new career path to rest. Animators are the second happiest profession to clergymen? That's so awesome!

What i know is the animation industry is full of assholes, hence everywhere you read for career advice they always mention, "a bad attitude is a deal breaker in the job market." Have a great attitute. You know why they always say that? Because the animation industry is full of people with bad attitudes.

Sure i love animation and i dream of a nice office enviroment with nice people to work with.

But...The politics e.g. who did this? why? you should have done that! We don't trust you are good enough to handle this shot! Why give that shot to her? She can't it!

us v.s. them develops in an office quick.

Too much for me.

I'd rather do my own projects during weekends. You wonder why, if you read Dimitri's comment above, that "...10% of people he met in school are still working in the industry, most of them turned to other graphic jobs or went to a totally different industry..."

I suspect minimum wage, politics, bad people and bad hours. besides, i've never read anywhere where they advice e.g. a C++ programmer to have a good attitude. never. but read 3D career advice, its almost universal, "have a great attitude"?

they say that because they know that there is a type 3D "artist" that can make an office unbearable.

yeah that report rocked! It was a little different in the results I had seen from a game developers magazine a few years ago but that was good news. Since my goal is eventually animation director this little look into the step ladder was really insightful and stimulating! Thanks AM! Can't wait for next fall to start!

great report..indeed! being an indian proud of my country's share in the industry. i just changed my career into animation recently.. your report made my decision mirthful! thanx a lot for the nice survey&report!

Hi! I am currently a sophmore at a four year college hoping to go to AM during my junior and senior years. :) I'm so excited, I can't wait! Well, I have to earn the money(including getting my first job to afford AM, but it's worth it!) to go first but...

My school sadly doesn't offer a degree in animaton, like most colleges, and most of the top animation schools were too expensive. I'm so greatful you guys made AM, it's giving me a chance to learn animaton without having to go in debt for many years. :)

Thanks so much for writing this article the statistics were great and I really liked learning about all of it. Thanks for others posting what they know about the industy as well, I always thought that the a good decision must be well informed, as best as we can right? I know the industry is both growing and being outsourced making it harder for us to get a job, but if you really like what you do isn't it worth the chance to try? Thanks again, I hope to see you on AM soon!

Is there any chance you guys could post your sources for the report please? (Haha been doing too many research papers I guess.) I'd kind of like to read some of the reports your found stuff from and other reports our there. :)

We commissioned a third-party firm to conduct the survey that was sent out to the animation industry. More than 1,200 professional animators from over a dozen countries responded to the survey. Most of the research is drawn from this survey.

Some of our outside sources include MPAA Theatrical Market Statistics, The Hollywood Reporter, Game Daily, and the U.S. Department of Labor. All of our sources are attributed throughout the report.

Hope that helps! Many of our students are in similar situations as you are -- they have attended a four-year university, but didn't gain character animation skills. So whatever path you decide to take, we wish you the best of luck!

Thanks so much for repling to my post! Haha I feel like I am talking to a celebrity. :) Ok, I'll try to see what I can find out about all of those as best as I can. (Haha it's hard to find time inbetween a full schedule and trying to build a quality portfolio but this is really important to me.) I really think animation is one of the most fun fields out there and I only think we are so lucky to live in a century where we have the technology to make things the way we do now. (Haha sorry for the philsophical moment.)

Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about AM in general please? I'm still trying to presuade my parents that I really should go to AM and that animation is a good field. (They aren't too happy about allowing me to move to CA considering I live on the east coast now and the cost of living there is so expensive.)

Ok on to the questions:

1.) Is a portfolio needed to be accepted for AM(if so what should be included) and if not what are the students accepted based on?

2.) Are there ever scholarships for AM? (I know the cost of AM is 1,000 times cheaper than most animation schools but the cost is still kind of difficult to come up with.)

3.) I noticed that AM mostly uses premade characters, I was really hoping to create some of my own for my demo reel(half of the fun of it, you know?), does AM still allow students to do character design in their clips?

This survey is very useful specially for me to decide my future plan ,thanks for this ,and now i am studying diploma in 3D ANIMATION (certified by CAMBRIDGE UNIV ),is it enough to get jobs in abroad -balaG (INDIA)

Maybe you'd be interested in this idea for a feature in your blog: show people how to HIRE an animator. I'm trying to find one and don't even begin to know where to start, what to expect to pay, how long it takes for a typical project (30 second commercial, for example). It's overwhelming. ::sigh:: But I'll add, it's been fun watching all the clips when I do a search!

Awesome!Thank you very much for the report. I found myself laughing in agreement and happiness at many of the things said, and also a joy in my heart.I think I may be called to the Animation Industry, and so now it's time to start trying out some of the programs and see how I do!Thank you for your Report. It was very very helpful and inspiring. I will continue to check back on AnimationMentor.com until I graduate this year, and perhaps, if God wills it and gives me life, I'll join the school too!

Does any study show where animators work? I don't necessarily mean companies, but cities and states. As someone in the midwest, I don't really look forward to having to move to a major market like California in order to really survive. Is it possible to thrive as an animator and not live in L.A., Florida or SoCal?